Of Fallen Angels
by Sage Li of Cruxis
Summary: Collab. between Li-chan and Sage of Spirits. Has hints of FE:RnK inside. Lloyd and Jaffar are cousins raised by Kratos in Cruxis, and they must lead the Chosen to the Tower of Salvation so that Martel can be reborn...
1. Prologue: Plans for Descent

_**The Sage of Spirits:** Welcome to the collaboration of **The Sage of Spirits** and **Li-chan0767**'s story! For now it's just me, but Li's going to be posting the next chapter (once we write it of course) next time. _n.n_ This is our first collab. Cruxis Lloyd story that has a touch of Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken (Blazing Sword, whichever you prefer).  
**Lloyd:** Of course it does - it's not surprising with you two anymore.  
**Jaffar:** Indeed.  
**Sage:** Whatever guys. Disclaimer.  
__**Lloyd:** The Sage of Spirits and Li-chan0767 does not own Tales of Symphonia or Fire Emblem. __

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**Of Fallen Angels**

**Prologue: Plans for Descent**

"What is the matter, Jaffar? Not feeling well?" A teen called out mockingly to the one named Jaffar, a wicked sneer spreading across his face.

Jaffar looked back over his shoulder at his younger cousin, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Lloyd? You're last assignment is over already?" The brunette nodded and grinned to himself, spying the smile on Jaffar's face.

"It was a simple one." He responded, his azure wings glowing faintly behind him. Not surprisingly, his cousin's black wings were out as well, and he seemed to be holding his partner-less dagger in one hand. "And since we both have spare time, I figured that we could at least attempt to get back on schedule." As he spoke, his hands drifted down to where his twin blades rested against his sides. Jaffar smiled, returning the sole dagger into his pack.

"Ready whenever you are, Cousin." He replied, his hands going down to his thighs, where he wore his short yet lethal blades strapped tightly to his pant legs. Lloyd grinned, and his hands tightened around his swords. Drawing them both in a single fluid motion, the brunette charged towards his auburn cousin, who drew his blades with incredible speed, using both to block the sword nearest him. Waiting until Lloyd's second sword swung around, he ducked and slashed upward with his right handed dagger, aiming to kill.

Lloyd jerked his head back just enough to dodge it, and brought his knee up as if to ram it into a spot that would hurt horribly if it connected. Just as he had expected, Jaffar practically cart wheeled away, flipping so that he landed upright. Waiting for Lloyd to plan his next maneuver, he muttered something under his breath. "Dark Feathers!!" A burst of black light issued forth, and several solid, translucent black feathers shot towards Lloyd.

Grinning, the younger Aurion began to knock the feathers away with his swords, all the while waiting for any hint of motion. While they both could move without a breath of sound, Jaffar was obviously the quicker of the two. Listening, Lloyd heard the noise of metal whistling through the air near his head and swung around to parry the descending daggers with his own swords.

"Hunting Beast!!" Shoving the older and taller away, Lloyd then knocked him skywards and leapt up higher, aided by his wings, and knocked Jaffar back down, who simply smirked in response and warped behind Lloyd.

"Dropped your guard!" he replied, going to level his left-handed dagger at Lloyd's neck. The brunette swore quietly and did a quick side tumble, evening out and standing once more. Both leapt away for a moment, before charging again and colliding with a ringing noise of colliding steel. Separating again, they charged one another several times over, relishing the loosening of such tight joints and the freedom of movement. Both were so caught up in the spar that neither noticed the older angel alighting to the ground not far from where they were.

Kratos stood there, watching as his son and nephew sparred, wondering if it was wise to interrupt such a friendly competition; those two had been rather busy with their assignments…

Deciding that what he was to tell them was more important, he began to smirk as he prepared his spell without the two younger angels' notice. As the two continued to fight, he charged his spell to its highest potential – as a joke, being the prankster that he is – and prepared to release.

"Sacred powers, cast thy purifying light upon the lands and render the earth apart… Judgment!" he said, the clanging of the weapons masking his voice; he began to chuckle as his fun was about to begin...

Lloyd and Jaffar charged toward each other, their weapons clashing together as sparks flew off of their blades. Suddenly, two beams of light fell behind their backs, startling them. They glanced up at the sky and saw as the beams continued to fall from the colorless sky; they broke off from each other and guarded themselves with defensive maneuvers.

After the spell subsided, Lloyd heard a familiar chuckle coming from the air; he glared angrily at the man that floated downward towards them.

"Dad..." he growled, "Do not do that during our weekly spar – we haven't had the time to practice as often because of what we do for Cruxis." Lloyd told the man, who had finally stopped chuckling.

"Oh, I am well aware of that; however, would you have stopped if I had not done that? Lord Yggdrasil would not be too pleased, as he has requested you both to appear before him." Kratos stated to the two teens. His statement did little to placate them, and two pairs of wine colored eyes glared sullenly at him.

"Uncle… If you weren't a family member I would run my knives through you." Jaffar told the man as the two young angels were walked to the castle.

"Jaffar, save that energy for later – you will need it then. And both of you, come over here." he commanded as the two walked over towards the man; Kratos kicked the two of them to the ground, sending them his authoritative glare. "If you two talk to me that way again I make you wish you had not. Understood?" he said in a cold tone.

"Y-yes sir…" They both said in unison, getting back on their feet; with a nod, Kratos flew off.

"Dad can be scary sometimes…" Lloyd chuckled weakly as he revealed his cerulean wings from within his back; Jaffar did the same, releasing his pitch black wings. They flew after the man, who was waiting for the two at the castle gate. Kratos led the two to the throne, whereupon the Leader of the Angels overlooked the City of Angels.

As they flew closer to the seatedLord Yggdrasil, Leader of Cruxis, they saw the slightly delighted smirk on his face; just before they arrived before the throne, they landed softly, falling onto one knee.

"Lord Yggdrasil." The three said in unison as the bowed their heads in respect.

"Ah, it is so good to see the three of you here before me. I have an assignment for the two of you, Lloyd and Jaffar." He said in his formal manner, fidgeting his fingers with excitement along the arm of the throne. "Pronyma has just brought it to my attention that the Chosen of Mana for Sylvarant may be the closest match to Martel's signature. Normally I would let fate take its toll on the Chosens; however, with this one so close with the signature I cannot take a chance with fate – I want the two of you to guard the Chosen until it is time to take her here from the Tower of Salvation."

"When are we to go and 'protect' her?" Lloyd asked, his face having a slight excitement at the chance of betrayal.

"Tomorrow, for that is the Day of Prophecy; I want you to join her at the best possible moment – when she is in a dangerous situation that of which calls for someone to save her. In that fashion, she will be indebted to you."

"Understood. Do we eliminate the companions?" Jaffar stated hopefully, a smirk appearing on both young angels' faces.

"Of course; we cannot have anyone survive after the Chosen has been brought up to Welgaia. If you both have anything you wish to say, you may take leave so that you may prepare for the journey." he said.

"Lord Yggdrasil, what of my father? Is he to accompany us?" Lloyd asked, turning his head towards Kratos, who was kneeling behind them. Yggdrasil shook his head.

"No, Kratos is not going to join you – he is to remain here for now. Is that all?" Yggdrasil asked; the two teens looked at each other and nodded their heads.

"Yes." They said at once.

"Then go now and ready yourselves; this matter will become crucial once it gets closer to your return here." he told the two, and with Kratos, they returned to their rooms as they readied themselves for their descent onto the world of Sylvarant.

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_**Li:**__ Wow--Jaffy's a bit more emotional than usual.  
**Sage:** Indeed; well I think that went well. Please review!_


	2. Meeting in the Temple

_**Li:** Konnichiwa everyone!  
**Lloyd:** Oh Suzaku, it's YOU!  
**Jaffar:** Sage said that she'd be posting this chapter.  
**Lloyd: **That doesn't make it any better!!  
**Li:** Lloyd, quit being a drama llama!! And once of you please give the disclaimer.  
**Jaffar:** Sage and Li own nothing, and we're all really grateful for that._

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**Chapter 1: Meeting in the Temple**

The air in the room was light and warm to the young girl as she turned around, straining her eyes to see the person that danced on the edge of her vision. Spying them once again, she stared at the silhouette against the eclipsing moon, a pair of glowing black wings growing from their shoulders.

"Who … who are you?" She called out softly, wanting the person to notice her.

_Nino …_

_Nino, wake up!_

_NINO BRUNEL, WAKE UP NOW!!_ Nino's sapphire eyes flew wide open as her head jerked up off her desk, blinking. Her adopted sister Colette was shaking her shoulder, and her teacher was standing there tapping her foot against the ground. "Oh!! Sorry Miss Raine." She stammered, looking down at her feet. "I-it won't happen again." Raine Sage sighed as she shook her head.

"I can be a little lenient, seeing as how this is only the first time this sort of thing has occurred. Just refrain from speaking to whoever is in your dream with you." She commented fairly, before turning back to the schoolroom's blackboard and picking up her piece of chalk and continuing her lecture on Mithos, the Hero of the Kharlan War.

Nino sighed as her teacher went on, her chin propped in her hand as she fought to pay attention to what was being said. It was not that she disliked class, but it got so … repetitive. Besides, that black-winged angel had nearly turned all the way around when she was woken up. Looking at her older sister, Nino wondered what such a dream could mean. She had been taken in by Colette's father fourteen years ago when the man had found her hidden from monsters just outside the Iselia ranch.

Colette looked over at that moment, and whispered to Nino, "Who were you talking to? In your dream, I mean." She asked, curious. Nino looked at the blond before sighing.

"An angel … an angel with black wings." She admitted, zoning in just in time to hear Genis give his answer about the role Mithos had had during the war. Colette's eyebrows shot up.

"Really? But why would a messenger of the Goddess have dark wings?" She asked again, but before Nino could respond Raine called on the leaf-haired girl.

"Nino? What is the role of the Chosen of Mana?" Nino sighed and stood, mouthing 'later' to Colette before responding softly.

"The Chosen of Mana is one chosen by the Goddess Martel to awaken the Goddess and seal away the Desians." Just as she had expected, the mention of the disliked half-elves brought stirs from the rest of the class, giving Nino a chance to sit again. Giggling, she pulled out the dagger that she used in battle, once again examining it with immense curiosity.

Unlike other daggers, this one was a pale white metal, and its blade was lighter as well. The hilt seemed to be made of burnished silver where it appeared beneath the blue wrappings of the turquoise ribbon that wrapped around it, leaving only the ruby in the pommel visible.

_I wonder how such a beautiful, defensive weapon came into my hands…_ she mused to herself, placing the dagger back into her bag on the floor of the schoolroom. She had intended to focus on the teacher's lesson, but her thoughts returned to that mysterious black-winged angel…

When a bright light flashed through the schoolroom's windows, blinding the startled students; they dived underneath of their desks to hide from the sudden lightshow. Colette stared off into the distance, her eyes glazing over as she knew that her time on this world began to grow short.

_I suppose this is the life of the Chosen One…_ she thought, trying to bring herself out of her daydreams into the real world. She noticed how Raine dashed for the doorway and stood up.

"Professor! I'll go with you!" she chirped, hoping that she would actually be able to be let out; however, Raine had other plans…

"No, Colette – you stay here with the others. If it is for the oracle the priests will come here for you." The teacher said and ran off for the temple gates; Colette watched as the woman ran by the back window towards the northern exit.

"I guess I'll wait for the priests then…" Colette sighed lightly under her breath; it was a good thing that she had not gone she supposed... "Hey Nino, would you like to play a game?" she asked her younger, foster sibling as a way to cure their boredom; Nino glanced up at her, her eyes glazed over.

"…Huh?" she gasped lightly. "Oh Colette, I'm sorry… I just cannot help but wonder what that dream meant… That mysterious being with black wings… I wonder what they wanted…or he, because he looked like a guy from what I could see."

"O-oh… Well maybe you'll run into him one day!" Colette said happily, clapping her hands together. Nino smiled gently; leave it to Colette to be ever the optimist.

"Thanks Colette – maybe I will… It's just… I…" she said as she turned her head away towards the window; she jumped as she heard Colette's scream a few moments later. She jolted onto her feet when she saw the bloody priest on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Pastor, please hold on!" Colette shouted, tears crawling down the sides of her face; the children around them bit their lips to hold back the tears, their eyes watering.

"I'm… sorry… the De-Desians… attacked… and I'm… sorry… for not… being… able… to pro…tect you… Cho…sen… Argh!" he choked, his life force quickly fading away as his arms went limp. Colette's head fell onto a dry, non-bloodied area on the priest's chest and sobbed, her tears soaking his old robes. After five minutes, she stood up and wiped her tears away with her sleeve as she headed for the door. Genis and Nino ran after her.

"Colette, where are you going?!" Genis asked, clutching Colette's wet sleeve.

"I… I must perform… my duty, Genis… To-Today is the Day… of Prophecy… I'm-I'm scared to go, but… I must." she said, heading for the door. Genis ran in front of the blonde-haired girl, blocking the way.

"If you must go, I'll go with you – I'm worried about Raine, and I can't let you go alone." he said, removing his kendema from his belt. Nino nodded her head.

"I'm coming too – I can't let you go by yourself." Nino said, digging into her bag for her unique dagger and followed her older sister to the outdoors. As they arrived to the gate they found Frank on their heels after them. "Father…" Colette and Nino said in unison.

"Girls, are you two going to the temple?" he asked them; they nodded at him with serious faces. "I see; Genis, I suggest you head home then."

"I'm worried about Raine; and I can't let them go by themselves." Frank raised his hand to his chin, as if in thought.

"Alright, but be careful; if you need me, don't hesitate to come to the house, okay?" he told them, his face looking at them in worry; he then took off, leaving them there, his thoughts remaining with them.

The trio looked at each other wearily, knowing full well that they were heading straight into danger; with weak nods, they set off for the Martel Temple.

_(--Lloyd and Jaffar…--)_

The two young angels soared through the sky on black and blue wings to the west, having left the heavenly white tower hours earlier. They were closing in to the temple when Lloyd caught sight of three figures heading towards the temple and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jaffar asked his younger cousin, eyeing the smirk slowly creeping onto the other teen's face.

"I spotted a small group of children heading for the temple; I believe they will be our way in." Lloyd said his smirk at its fullest. Jaffar looked for the group, spotting nothing.

"Are you sure? I don't see anything."

"Jaffar, you have forgotten? Compared to you, what I lack in speed and strength I make up with angelic senses; I see and hear better compared to you." Lloyd said to the older. With a nod, Jaffar waited until Lloyd gave the word; he watched as the three children entered the grounds of the temple. "Alright, let's go." he said with a sneer, a hand on one of his swords.

"Wait, cousin." Jaffar stated as they approached. "One of them might be the Chosen."

"True… and anyway, it seems that the Renegades are here already." Lloyd responded, eyes spotting the "Desians" picket-fencing the entrance to the temple. Jaffar raised an eyebrow in curiosity; how had the Renegades gotten there before them? Deciding not to question it, he began to walk towards the temple when Lloyd's hands grabbed at his cape.

"Not yet!!" The brunette hissed, ignoring the irritated glare his cousin was sending him. "We wait until it seems that the Chosen needs to be saved. It appears that she is part of the group of children that we saw earlier."

"Very well." Jaffar replied, shifting so that the way to the temple was clear.

_(Colette, Nino and Genis)_

The three children stopped and stared in shock as the Desians back Phaidra into a wall, their leader demanding to know where the Chosen of Mana was. Concerned for her grandmother, Nino called out to her. "Grandma!!" Phaidra's head shot up, eyes widening in horror at the sight of her two granddaughters at the temple. The Desians heard as well, and they turned to look at the three before them. Genis' hand went to his kendama, and Nino leveled the dagger. Colette drew out her chakrams as the nearest Desians charged.

Although the two half-elves were superior in terms of battle training and strength, the three were faster. The first one reached Nino and swung his sword, only to find that the younger girl had ducked down, slashing out with the small knife. The unnaturally sharp edge bit clean through the cloth to score a nasty hit on the man's leg. Cursing, he swung down with his sword, missing as Nino rolled through his legs and gouged the other one.

As the Desian went down on one knee, Genis finished prepping his spell. "Fireball!!" The three orbs of red flames fired off at the two, knocking the wounded one in the chest and the one tormenting Colette. Seizing the instant, the blond spun away and flung both chakrams at him at once. The thin metal discs tore open his neck, letting his body fell limply to the ground.

"You little …" The second began, charging at Colette as best as he could with a crippled leg when Nino's spell hit him in the back.

"Aqua Edge!" The leaf-haired girl grinned as the spell knocked the man onto his face. He was not down long, however, and he got back up and charged at Genis, who was busy prepping another spell. Seconds before the blade hit him, he cried out, "Stone Blast!!" The small pebbles allowed him enough time to prep a second Fireball and fired it off while Nino threw the small white dagger at the man's back.

"Demon Claw!"

"Fireball!!"

Caught in between the two blows, the Desian fell, singed on the front and knifed in the back. Trotting over to grab the small weapon, Nino grinned to herself; she had not been in a fight like this before! It was good to see that her rough-housing with Colette had paid off.

The Desians, however, looked at their leader. The brunette half-elf scowled; he had thought originally that there was only ONE spell caster in the group. Turning around, he spoke to his men, "This Chosen seems to have a bit of luck on her side. Let us correct that situation!"

As he spoke, a heavy infantryman walked into view, swinging around a spiked flail in one hand whilst carrying an immense broadsword in the other.

"You shall not pass." He spoke ominously, bringing the flail down to the earth with a jerk of the chain. It landed in between Colette and Nino, both of whom leapt away in the nick of time, a small cut appearing on Nino's leg.

"Wind Blade!!" She cried out as she fell, sending the razor sharp wind blades at Vidarr in the same second. Colette was right behind her sister, mainly due to the fact that she had tripped after leaping aside.

"Ray Thrust!!" The two chakrams opened up small cuts on the infantryman's chest, but he ignored them and brought down his hammer. Colette squeaked and tripped out of the way, earning a faint bruise in the process.

"Fireball!!" Genis shouted, trying desperately to save his two friends. Vidarr in turn pivoted to face him, and brought his sword down, the flat of the blade knocking the silver-haired boy down.

Nino sprung back up, dagger in hand. Running up to Vidarr, she slashed at his leg, only to find that her attack did about as little damage as the rest. Before she could duck away, however, the man brought the butt of his sword into her gut, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying back to land on her back beside her siblings. Genis was on his knees beside them, and Colette was panting heavily.

"This isn't a good situation…" Colette panted, sky colored eyes wide with fear as Vidarr approached, his looming weapons cutting through the air. All three children closed their eyes as they waited for the impact.

However, Nino heard the faint rustle of cloth pass by her ear, and when Vidarr grunted loudly, she looked up again in time to see a brunette wielding twin swords nearly sever Vidarr's left arm as a taller auburn wearing grey and black ran up and planted his fist into the infantryman's face. Nino's eyes widened as she thought, oh so briefly, that the young man's cape was a pair of black wings. Shaking her head, she asked softly, "Who ... are you?"

Jaffar, startled by the sound of someone behind him speaking, turned around and stared down at Nino with unreadable red eyes. Lloyd, noticing the group as well with a pair of similarly mysterious red eyes, sighed and began to cast a healing spell when Vidarr stood again. Jaffar, noticing the movement even before Lloyd did, drew his daggers and ran at fast speeds--well, fast for a human, but rather slow for the Seraph--to stab the Desian in the leg.

"Fist Aid!!" Lloyd's shout accompanied the green glow, and the three younger fighters stood and began to attack Vidarr as well. Lloyd grinned at his cousin before performing a basic Demon Fang attack. Jaffar did not respond, but lashed out with a Double Claw attack, which landed in the man's chest. Nino and Colette were in the fray as well, pelting the man with weaker attacks.

Sometime during the fighting, Nino noticed a small red stone rolling away from Vidarr. Curious, she stooped to grab it just as Vidarr fell dead to the ground, taken out from one last Fireball attack from Genis. The other Desians looked at their leader, who gave them the orders to run; he did not want to waste any more men than necessary against the two newcomers.

Jaffar watched them flee, face blank as he cleaned off his daggers and stored them away. "What are you children doing here?" he asked harshly, his beady red eyes glaring down at them. Lloyd stood nearby, his sword still in his right hand as it was held over his shoulder and behind his back, the other sword in his left hand at his side; his intimidating eyes were overshadowed with a calm smirk.

"We were going to go-" Colette began to explain when she caught sight of the elderly lady that stood in front of the temple. "Grandmother!" she called out.

"Oh girls, you're safe…" she replied, hugging the two girls tightly; she then turned her old body towards the two young men that saved the children from a worse fate and smiled. "I thank you both for saving my grandchildren – I don't know what I would have done if I had lost them…" she paused momentarily to catch her breath. "…Or what the world would have done… without the Chosen."

Lloyd and Jaffar glanced at each other, nodding their heads at one another. "The Chosen, you say? That may explain why these three came to this place…" Lloyd replied as he sheathed his swords after all of the blood had been cleaned off. "Anyway, it was nothing – we were just at the right place at the right time." he replied with a gentle smile. "I am Lloyd, a traveling swordsman."

"…I am Jaffar, a mercenary alongside Lloyd, my cousin." Jaffar told them.

"I see… Thank you, you fine, young gentlemen. I am the High Priestess of this temple, Phaidra. I do not wish to bother with you both, but might I impose that you aid the Chosen during the Trial of the Prophecy? The priests that were assigned to help her were murdered by the Desians." Phaidra responded, her eyes shifting towards the corpses of the priests, who gave their lives to protect the Chosen.

"We will – we shall protect her as long as we are being paid." Jaffar told the priestess bluntly; Phaidra humbly laughed.

"Of course, my child, it shall be done." Lloyd began to smile at the old woman for her promised payment, his smile merely masking his thoughts of how things were going so well for them.

"Then it is a deal then. You can count on us." Lloyd told the elderly woman. "Chosen, shall we proceed?"

Colette looked at the young teen, a bright smile on her face at meeting a new face – two to be more precise. "Yes, we can! Although…" she paused, turning her head towards the two children behind her. "…I would feel even safer if I had Genis and Nino with me. May they come with us? Please?" she asked politely, hoping to give entrance to her younger sister and friend.

"…Lloyd, I must speak with you." Jaffar said to his younger cousin, pulling him aside from the three children so that they may not hear of their conversation. "I think we should not let them come – they will only get in the way and make our job harder."

"I know that, but this is not the journey – simply the trial. We'll lead them on, thinking that they may come with us, and then crush their hopes. Hopefully it will simply be you, the Chosen and myself; that will make our work that much easier."

"Now Lloyd, why did you have to say that? Now it will only be harder for us." Jaffar said to the red-clad teen, eyeing him as if in anger; Lloyd knew his older cousin better than that, and returned the glare with one of his own. A smirk crept onto Jaffar's face soon enough. "…All the better; we've been having doldrums spells, and now things will get interesting for us. Lead them on, dear cousin; and make sure to have fun with it."

"Is there something wrong?" Phaidra asked, eyes narrowed in concern. Lloyd and Jaffar turned around at the same time and shook their heads, a smile on Lloyd's face.

"Of course not. I simply needed to reassure my cousin that there would be no trouble bringing the two along." He reassured the elderly woman, smirking inside when he heard the three children's' shout of 'yes!'. Looking at them, he said lightly, "Shall we be going then, Chosen?" Colette could not hold back the faint blush on her face as she nodded, and hugged her grandmother once more before leading the way into the temple. Lloyd followed behind, and Genis followed afterward. Nino looked from the entrance towards Phaidra before flashing a quick smile at her grandmother's worried face.

"I'll be fine Grandmother! Don't worry!" She stated, trying to elevate Phaidra's unspoken worry. The elderly woman nodded solemnly, watching the younger girl trot into the temple a pace behind her friends. Jaffar went to follow when he sensed eyes on him; Phaidra's. Turning to look at the priestess, he raised an eyebrow in a questioning look.

"Nino … she's not really related to Colette and I by blood." Phaidra whispered after a few minutes. "She was found near the Iselian Human Ranch around thirteen years ago, and we took her in." Something about the way she said the last bit perked Jaffar's interest, but he let it drop for now. Nodding, he followed the children into the temple.

Once inside, the five reached a doorway sealed with arcane magic that seemed to radiate with divine protection. Jaffar bit back an annoyed sigh whilst Lloyd rolled his eyes; trust Lord Yggdrasil to start out with a trial such as this one.

"It looks like it's sealed." Genis piped up after a minute, eyes scanning the doorway. Nino turned to Colette.

"Do you think the Sorcerer's Ring could open it up?" She asked her elder sister, who nodded. "Let's go get it then!!" She cheered, turning around and running to the passage at the group's rear right. Seeing the startled looks on the two mercenaries' faces, she stated simply, "It's down this way—I found it a couple of weeks ago."

"I didn't think any but the Chosen and the priests were allowed down this way." Jaffar whispered faintly to Lloyd as they took up the rearguard of the group, prepared for any monsters that might come their way; Lloyd shrugged.

"Maybe as the Chosen's younger sister, Nino was an exception." He suggested, angelic eyes spotting the spider heading towards the group. "Eyes up, there's something coming!" The other four sprang into action at his call, and the spider was defeated in a matter of minutes. After that, they fought off a few more monsters before reaching the stairway that lead down to the basement floor of the temple.

Stopping on the hovering platform a few feet away, Nino pointed, "It's over there, but now we need to go ge—"

"Look at this!" Colette's blissfully innocent voice called out, cutting Nino off. The girl turned around in the same second as Jaffar, whose eyes widened marginally. Without a second thought, he ran towards the Golem.

"Attack that thing!" He hollered, knocking the thing away. Without a second thought, the others tore at the thing, blasting it as best they could. In the process, Nino learned Icicle, Colette Item Thief, and Genis Wind Blade. Lloyd and Jaffar also "learned" Sonic Thrust and Night Claw, respectively. After the beating was through, the Golem collapsed into a stone block.

"Now what do we do with it?" Genis asked. Colette looked at him and then stepped forward.

"Let's—Oomph!" She broke off, tripping over thin air and shoving the block down a hole, bridging a gap in the walkway down below. Jaffar and Lloyd looked at one another in annoyance behind the others; how menial… and annoyingly cliché … The three younger ones, however, were thrilled, and charged eagerly at the next Golem.

About fifteen minutes later—and about six Golems later—Genis ran up the steps to retrieve the Sorcerer's Ring. Grinning, he turned to the others and shouted, "Let's go to that door again." Nino agreed vocally, and Colette led the way upstairs once again. She managed to pull Lloyd up front with her, and she began speaking animatedly with him.

"Lloyd, where are you from?" She asked, sky colored eyes wide in admiration and a slight sense of something she could not name. Lloyd looked at her in a confused manner.

"Do you mean where I live?" he asked, trying to figure out if the Chosen was wary of him or not. She giggled.

"Yeah!"

"… Somewhere far away."

"Will we manage to get there on the Journey?"

"I doubt it."

"Does Jaffar live there too?

"Yes, along with my Dad."

"Really? What about Jaffar's parents?" She asked, only to find a second later that she had touched base on a sensitive subject; Jaffar and Lloyd both fell into a nearly depressed silence. "… Oh." She whispered, feeling horrible. "Sorry."

"Don't think on it long; I didn't know them that well." Jaffar replied, voice dry. Nino looked at him and went to break the silence when Genis let out a freaked cry.

"Oh no!" Looking up, the three students looked up to find Raine standing in front of the door, completely oblivious to the five behind her.

"Ack!" Nino squeaked, running to hide behind Jaffar. "I'm not here!" She whispered hurriedly, not wanting to attract her teacher's attention. Genis' statement had caught his sister's attention, however, and she turned around.

"Genis, what are you doing here?!" She demanded, walking towards him. Genis blanked and went to flee when her hand grabbed at his arm, keeping him from moving. In one swift moment, she had him over a knee and was delivering a series of harsh, punishing smacks to his rear. Colette stared on in stunned silence while Lloyd and Jaffar looked away. Nino—still hidden behind Jaffar—winced with each smack.

When Raine had set her brother down, she looked around for Nino—if Colette and Genis were there, so was she. Jaffar looked at the crouching Genis, then at his cousin, who looked back. Cocking an eyebrow, the auburn smirked at his younger cousin.

"Well, I must say that the scariest thing I've seen next to that is Uncle after you put--" He began, voice light and humorous.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO BRING UP THAT SUBJECT!!" Lloyd interjected, face nearly as red as his shirt; Jaffar simply laughed. For the first time, Raine noticed the older boys were present, and turned to face them.

"Oh? And just who are you two? I don't believe they allowed such… visitors." The woman glared at the two teens, eyes full of suspicion. Lloyd began to smile gently – as he usually did under pressure.

"I am Lloyd; this is my cousin, Jaffar. We came to the temple to see if the priests needed people to guard them during a pilgrimage." he said, crafting his ingenious lie under their false pretenses.

"…I see… Well then, I must ask you both something – scratch that, two things. Firstly, you with the black cape, please move aside so that I might collect Nino." she said; Jaffar began to smirk lightly at the young girl hidden behind him, whispering a small "Sorry" before stepping aside, revealing her presence. "Now Nino, you have time to explain to me one thing – are you allowed to come with Colette to this temple?"

"Y-Yes, I… I am… I was brought here by Grandmother to be taken care of whenever Father needed to do his work. I was then given to become a special exemption because of that." Nino replied as she raised her arms over her face, covering her eyes as she waited for the teacher's punishment. Minutes had passed and she was not feeling sore, so she lowered her arms slightly so that she may see what is keeping the crazed teacher from hitting her. "P-Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Why haven't you… You know…"

"Because I cannot hit someone that has had permission from long ago; and as much as I would like to, I cannot hit these two boys either, unless you sneaked in without letting Phaidra knowing of this entry." she said, eyeing the two boys wickedly.

"…We do have permission to be within the temple, thank you very much. Without our arrival, these kids would be dead after the Desians attacked the temple." Jaffar said coldly to the woman, barely able to keep his cold demeanor with the mentioning of the Desians. Raine's eyes cocked open slightly with intrigue.

"Really? Then you both saved these children from death, and that is why Phaidra allowed the two of you into this sacred place? I would like to see you both in action if you are allowed to come with us on the Journey of Regeneration." she said; Lloyd flinched slightly upon hearing that said statement as he mentally smacked himself on the face.

_Why did I have to jinx myself like that…?!_

"Oh, you are going with the Chosen on the journey?" he asked as he hoped that he did not add onto the suspicion of the older woman; she waved her hand back as if she was toying with them, and led the three children to the warp pad down the central pathway. The two teen angels glanced at each other with frustrated glares.

"Way to go Lloyd, you might as well tell her everything." Jaffar said with a snide, his cold tone only serving to augment the anger held within his younger cousin.

"I haven't blown it yet!" Lloyd whispered back to Jaffar, barely able to keep his voice below a whisper. "I asked an honest question! Come on, we'd better hurry to meet with whomever is taking the role of 'Guardian Angel.'" Lloyd replied and ran off, leaving his older cousin there, arms crossed.

"I think you will not like whom it is regardless, Lloyd…" Jaffar said as he uncrossed his arms and ran after the younger cousin, hoping that his cover is not yet blown. He warped to the top of the building as the angel began to descend from the heavens. Making his way behind the group, he blended in with the darkness within the altar room, as if he were trying to escape through the shadows.

"I am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis; I am here to guide the next Chosen through her journey to the Tower of Salvation. I now bestow upon you, dear Chosen, with your Cruxis Crystal." The angel said upon settling himself after his arrival. With a gentle push, he sent the Cruxis Crystal toward Colette's neck; the crystal took form and attached itself below her chin. "With the Chosen now truly established, I hereby bestow upon the world of Sylvarant the Tower of Salvation."

With a rumbling of the earth, everyone turned their heads toward the back window and gasped.

"The… the Tower of Salvation! Now the world will be saved!" Genis shouted happily as he grabbed Colette and Nino's hands as he jumped up and down with excitement.

"Chosen One, you must head to the four seals throughout Sylvarant if you wish to enter the holy tower - the temple of the southeast, the temple of the southwest, the temple of the northwest, and the temple of the northeast… Awaken the Summon Spirits that reside within each temple, so that you may release the final seal within the Tower of Salvation, and doing so awaken the Goddess Martel."

"I will do as you instruct Lord Remiel." Colette said respectfully, gazing at the white-winged angel with mixed thoughts, luckily of which were not shown upon her face. Remiel began to ascend when she remembered something that she had learned before. "Oh! Please wait! Are you my fa-" she paused, wondering if she was expecting something to happen had she finished that phrase.

"Unlock the seals that block the path to the Tower of Salvation, Colette, my dear daughter." He said with a serene smile before he was spirited away, back into the heavens…

_**Sage:**__ Wow that took a bit of time. Well, I wonder if anyone can tell who wrote what? –evil grin- I'd be surprised if they could. I can tell pretty easily, but that's me.  
**Li: **Well yeah, but we're the ones writing this. So things get started!! Woot!  
**Lloyd:** Ooh!! Do I get to clock the mayor?  
**Li: **Not yet. Sorry Lloyd. -sweatdrop-  
**Nino:** Review please!_


	3. Hesitated Desecration

_**Sage:** Hmm... The next chapter.  
**Jaffar:** What's with you?  
**Sage:** ...It's nothing. You know, this chapter was fun to write.  
**Lloyd:** It couldn't be because of all the-  
**Sage: **Lloyd...  
**Lloyd:** Hah, you can't take a joke. Sage and Li don't own us, FE or Tales of Symphonia.  
**Sage:** Please read!

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Hesitated Desecration **

The group of six warped out of the small room, the Oracle completed. Colette and Nino chatted merrily together about the angel that had appeared, as Raine began lecturing about the importance of obtaining research information about the different species of people.

Genis shuddered at the thought of what his sister was planning…

Lloyd led the group out of the temple, knowing secretly that his vision would keep them safe – while still being "allies," of course – from harm. The wild animals surrounding the temple where merely pushed aside, fearful of the brown-haired teen's soul-piercing Aurion Glare. After ten minutes of walking, they re-entered the tiny village; Raine left the group, saying that she had something of some importance to do.

Down to five, they hurried over to Colette's House. Frank and Phaidra awaited them, smiling upon their arrival. However, a third person sat at the end of the table, his whiting hair showing his aging body.

"Ah, Chosen One, you have arrived." he said, standing up from his chair. "Now that you have arrived, we can begin our meeting."

"What meeting, Mr. Mayor?" Nino asked, twirling a bit of her green hair with her finger. She walked over to her grandmother, giving her a hug before she took a seat next to Frank.

"The meeting of who goes with the Chosen One, of course!" he said rather coarsely, rolling his eyes at the young girl. "We have to be successful this time or we may all die!"

"If that is the case," Jaffar said as he was leaning against the wall, "You should hire us, we can provide the 'safety' you speak of." he said as he closed his eyes.

"Humph. And who are you exactly?!" the mayor scoffed at him; Lloyd narrowed his eyes, a smirk slowly growing on his lips.

"I would well advise not aggravating him. It matters not of who you are; he will cut you down with one killing stroke." Lloyd told the man. "Trust me, he is my cousin – I've heard of him that angry before."

"Oh my. When was the last time he got that angry?" Phaidra asked, fearful of what she heard.

"It was-" Lloyd began, when Jaffar cut him off.

"No, cousin. I shall tell the tale." Jaffar said. "It happened when I was five. My parents had disappeared, and I was suffering. Everyone looked down on me, saying things about me that ate at my heart. I… I finally snapped and went berserk. After I had finally calmed down, I... was in pain. From that night on, they called me 'Angel of Death...' I was only five years old. I..." he paused, almost as if he was clutching a piece of his cloth. "Ever since that night, I began work to control my feelings. Such an incident had not happened since then. You can put your fears aside. Not only that, Lloyd is here to help me as well."

Phaidra looked at the teen warily, still rather shocked. "Did you regret what had happened?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Yes. I had regretted it so much I asked the goddess to forgive me on multiple occasions." he replied, trying to keep his laughter from revealing his cover. _'The goddess… Bah…'_

"I see. You have suffered greatly, especially for one of your age."

"That doesn't matter! He's a monster!" the mayor shouted, pounding his fist onto the table. Jaffar lowered his face – as to hide his face's expression. Lloyd silently thanked anyone listening that the cape that his cousin wore was black and about as opaque as cloth could be; he could sense the death glare and killer intent radiating from his cousin even at this distance.

"Mayor, I would suggest you watch you who call 'monster' in my house." Phaidra replied to his outburst. "Everyone who repents to the goddess is to be forgiven, for the goddess forgives all who see the error in their ways. This boy has suffered enough as it is."

Jaffar looked up, a gentle smile on his face. "Thank you."

"Now, I suggest we move on. After all, Mayor, the decision is ultimately up to me, as I am the High Priestess of the Church. You are merely here to oversee this meeting." Phaidra said. "My personal opinion lies with Raine and the two boys, Lloyd and Jaffar." she said, a smile on her face.

"We have no objections to that." Lloyd replied from his place on the wall, crossing his arms.

"W-wait! If Raine's going, then I want to go too!" Genis said a loud.

"And if my sister is going, I have to go too! I have to help her somehow!" Nino shouted from her seat next to Frank.

"No, it's too dangerous for kids like you! I'm already allowing those two over there to go as it is!" the mayor shouted again, ignorant of the words of the priestess. He instantly fell quiet once more when two pairs of wine red eyes glared metaphorical daggers at him.

"It'll be dangerous!" Colette said. "I don't want you to get hurt, Nino, Genis! I care too much to see you hurt because of me." she said, lowering her face slightly to hide her face.

Nino closed her eyes, sighing. "I understand what you are saying, but that doesn't mean that I feel the same… But you're my older sister so…" she replied, knowing that she was to stay.

"Thank you, Nino." Colette smiled, her fears slowly grounding. Nino smiled back.

"I'll leave you all be for right now. Make sure you hurry soon, Colette – we have to do something before you leave!" she said, exiting the house. Genis sighed, knowing that if Nino could not be allowed to come, he would not be able to. That was when he lightly gasped.

_'Marble! I have to tell Marble about the Oracle!'_ he thought, a certain auburn-haired Seraph catching the shock. Lloyd had noticed as well. But upon noticing his cousin's reaction, Lloyd nodded his head; Jaffar was going to keep his eyes on them this time.

"I'm going to leave now. If you happen to see Raine, could you let me know? Thanks!" Genis said before a response could have been given, running through the door. Jaffar gave the nod, signifying it was time.

"If we are all in agreement, I must take leave for a while. Lloyd will handle everything else for now. Good-bye." He said, unfolding his arms and walking out of the house before anyone could protest. Lloyd watched his cousin go and shook his head in mild surprise.

"He's always been like that." he shrugged. Turning to face the mayor, who seemed to have become cowed after Phaidra's scolding, he spoke again. "So it is to be my cousin, an elven teacher, and myself that accompany the Chosen?" he asked, to which the priestess nodded. "Forgive me for asking, but why the teacher?"

"Raine is a healer; we fear that you might need one on this journey." Phaidra responded, bowing her head. "Although from what I saw, you can cast some basic magic, but a healing specialist would be recommended for such a long and treacherous journey."

_'Treacherous? Compared to Dad and Jaffar angry at the same time, this is like a day at Altimira.'_ Lloyd thought, remembering how angry Kratos had been about the other angels tormenting his nephew. _'Or Dad after that one incident …'_ Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Lloyd smiled and nodded politely. "I thank you for your concern. If we are all in agreement on this, there is something I must see too; I won't take long." Phaidra nodded, and Lloyd stepped away from the wall, walking out of the house.

Stopping in the middle of the village to regain his bearings, Lloyd looked towards the forest and sighed. "It's now or never; I might not gain a chance to come here again …" He told himself silently, walking into the woods and towards the base of the cliff where the Iselia Human Ranch was located fifty feet above his head.

_(--Genis and Nino…--)_

Walking towards the ranch, Genis pulled away from where Nino and he were walking and headed towards it. "Here's my stop, Nino. I'll catch up to you later!" Nino looked at him as if he had suddenly grown a tail and cat ears.

"But that is the way towards the Iselia Ranch." Jaffar's solemn voice behind the two made them leap up and turn just as the auburn mercenary walked up the road. Nino stared at him, unable to form words to say: just how did he do that?!

"…There's someone that I really need to tell the Oracle about!" Genis replied, recovering from Jaffar's silent appearance. Now two pairs of eyes stared at him as if he were mentally inept. Finally, Nino spoke up.

"I don't want you to get hurt, so I'm going with you!" She declared suddenly, stepping towards the elf with a grin. Genis silently sighed and turned, and the two ran towards the Ranch. Jaffar looked after them and shook his head.

"If they were simply to go gallivanting into the forest, this would've been much easier to do …" he muttered to himself, following behind the pair at a walk. When he arrived, Jaffar was shocked to see the pair talking to an elderly lady kept within the ranch itself. From the sound of it, Genis was telling her about the Oracle. Cautious, he wandered over to where they stood; Nino noticed him first.

"Oh, hi Jaffar; Marble, this is Jaffar, one of the mercenaries that's going to be going with Colette on the journey!" Nino told the old woman; Jaffar nodded mutely to her. Marble looked at him with relief.

"That is good; let us pray to Martel that this journey is successful." She turned her gaze skyward, and Genis took the opportunity to speak again.

"The last chosen was killed by Desians along the Journey, right?" He inquired, to which Marble nodded. Nino looked at the ground in sorrow, praying silently that her big sister lived as well. Jaffar fought to keep a straight face; this confused him.

_'Lord Yggdrasil wouldn't allow the Desians to kill the Chosen, so it has to be the Renegades.'_ He thought, cursing the man who led the subverting group for being so clever. All the while, his mind was trying to remember who the Grand Cardinal in charge was. He knew for a fact that it wasn't K'var or Pronyma; the latter was always around Lord Yggdrasil and didn't have a ranch, and the former was in charge of the Luin Ranch (as he and Lloyd had asked if it was alright to dispose of him along the journey due to what had happened to Lloyd's mother; Yggdrasil had said that only if they were in the ranch itself and they were "protecting" the Chosen would it be allowed.)

_'So who is in charge here?'_ Jaffar scowled in his mind, but his thoughts were interrupted by a Desian's yell. Marble looked over her shoulder in a panic and then looked back at the three.

"Go! Get out of here before they see you!" She insisted. Genis looked at her in horror.

"B-but …!" he protested.

"Just go!" Marble cut in, voice gentle and frightened at the same time. Jaffar had already backed up a few paces, and as Nino and Genis apologized to Marble about being unable to help, he beckoned the two into the shadows provided by a tree nearby. Genis seemed crestfallen. Although Jaffar knew it would be risky if the children were seen, the Grand Cardinal would recognize him as a Seraph—he hoped.

"I want to see if Marble's okay." Genis sighed, eyes glancing worriedly towards the ranch. Nino, nodding in agreement, spied a series of ledges that they could see from, and were easily scaled.

"This way!" She hissed, making the two boys turn and look as she leapt onto the lowest ledge. Jaffar rolled his eyes and followed, Genis right behind him. It took nearly five minutes of leaping and heaving—which was only because Genis was too short to jump that high, meaning Jaffar had to help him climb up—but the three found themselves on a ledge overlooking the ranch.

Upon seeing Marble being mercilessly whipped by a group of Desians, the younger two were horrified. Nino would've screamed if Jaffar hadn't clapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet; the cry would have given away their location. Laying flat down on the ground of their aerie, Genis began to tremble. "We've got to help her somehow!"

"Genis, do you think you can hit them with magic from this distance?" Nino asked just as quietly, earning a startled look from him and Jaffar. When the elf nodded, she beckoned towards the Desians at Marble's back. "Hit them with it then than run towards Uncle Dirk's place. I'll distract them!" Genis stared at her as if _she _was the insane one, before beginning to argue with her over it.

Jaffar sighed, impressed that Nino was so willing to give her friend a chance to escape, and vexed at the same time at her being so darn stubborn! Finally, in order to end the argument and to get at least Nino onto his side, he intervened. "It's the only thing that we could possibly do the help her. But so I don't have Lloyd and your friends and family in the village after my blood, I'll help as well." Nino beamed at him, and Genis sighed in defeat with a smile on his face.

"You two are mad." He commented, standing and drawing his kendama. "Be careful, alright?" Nino nodded, and Jaffar simply blinked. Leaning forward while Genis was muttering the "Fireball" incantation under his breath, the auburn leaned forward and began to whisper in Nino's ear.

"When we've got the guards' attention, run away from the village; I'll go down the cliff." He ordered. Nino shot him a looked that seemed to question his sanity when he mentioned going over the fifty foot drop opposite their cliff. But before she could get a word out to him, he pointed; Genis' three fireballs had just scored hits on the Desians. One of them swore loudly, and the three turned to look.

Taking it as a cue, Jaffar leapt onto part of the gate with Nino right behind him; the Seraph heard the order for the main gate to be opened, and he began to run for the cliff while Nino broke off onto the main road. Genis, who had been hiding in the bushes, began to move when he tripped.

"Ow!" he cried, only to clap his hands to his mouth a split second later as the three heard him. Jaffar cursed under his breath and glared at Nino to keep her moving; the girl was gone in a heartbeat.

Pulling out one of his knives, Jaffar threw it directly at the first Desian as he pivoted on one foot; it nailed him in the eye slot of his helmet, and he went down silently.

"What the-?!" the second hollered, only to see Jaffar rushing at him, palming the second blade as he planted a jump kick into the man and shoved him to the ground. While the second was still winded, Jaffar used the lull to grab his first knife and parried an overhand chop by the third's sword. Keeping an eye on the second—who had a whip—the auburn swept the Desian's feet out from under him with one of his own, using the momentum to go straight into a high kick aimed at the second's head.

Genis, seeing that he had a chance, fled, running in the same direction as Nino, a sole thought going through his head _'Note to self; never piss Jaffar off!' _Glancing back once, he saw the whip man catch the auburn's arm with his weapon and pull him into kicking range, only for Jaffar to drive a knife into his torso. The sight scared him and he ran off, leaving the scene behind him.

As the second went down, Jaffar turned. "And then there was one." He looked calmly at the third Desian, who hollered and charged at him. Sweeping out with the blade, the armored man didn't notice he had missed the teen until a dagger was at his neck. Jaffar stood still behind him, looking at the Desian with distaste.

"Game over." With that, he dragged the dagger towards him, severing the half-elf's jugular. Letting him go down in a spray of blood, he wiped the daggers and stowed them away. Jaffar stared straight into the hidden camera and said something into it, just as a small horde rushed out at him. Grinning behind his cape, he ran towards the cliff and leapt.

Landing lightly, Jaffar went to turn and run back towards the forest when an odd patch of red near the cliff's base caught his attention. Turning to look, his curiosity was perked when he noticed it was his cousin. _'What is Lloyd doing here?'_ Jaffar asked himself, walking towards the brunette and hiding himself behind a tree.

Now that he was closer, Jaffar could see that Lloyd was kneeling in front of something with his head bowed, utterly silent. Leaning more to see what could command his cousin's short attention span like this, he nearly gasped aloud when he saw the marble stone. _'T-that's Aunt's grave…'_ Jaffar thought, stunned _'How long has Lloyd known it was here?'_ The auburn's first thought was to go towards his cousin, but his mind stopped him for two reasons.

The first was that Nino and Genis were probably worried that he'd been captured.

The second was that he _really_ didn't want an angry Lloyd first thing on the Journey; he'd probably come to his mother's grave for some peace in the first place.

With little choice left, Jaffar turned and walked back into the forest, thoughts preoccupied. He went through the forest unknowingly, hoping he could sense the two children from his location. He had not heard Nino's call.

"Jaffar, over here!" Nino shouted, waving her arm in the air. She smiled with relief, knowing that he was safe. "I'm so glad you're safe! Genis told me what happened… Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." he said plainly. He looked around and saw a tiny wooden cottage by a small creek. He wondered who could possibly live in this place when the front door opened. He watched as a dwarf made his way outside, Genis following behind.

"So, who's this feller ye both been talkin' about?" Dirk said gruffly, looking around at the scenery. He then noticed the auburn-haired Seraph standing completely still, his black garments flowing calmly behind him. The teen's eyes were closed as the dwarf came closer. "Aye, are ye him?"

"Perhaps. It all depends on what these two have told you." Jaffar spoke coolly, having spent too much time around his uncle and cousin. The dwarf laughed heartily, a smile growing on his face soon after.

"Aye, you be the one they told me of – cool, calm, collected, and wears an outfit of black." he replied, slapping Jaffar on the back; the seraph temporarily lost balance, nearly falling onto the ground. Except for the fact that he was very agile in his movements, he flipped backwards, landing on his feet.

"Then yes, that is I." he said with slight annoyance.

"I'm Dirk. Nice ta meet'cha." he said, suddenly narrowing his eyes. "Nino told me ya went to tha ranch. I thought someone like you shoulda known better." Jaffar suddenly opened his eyes, instantly sending a mild glare.

"While it is true that I went there, it was not my original intent. Why don't you talk to the two younger ones before questioning me?" he said with slight anger. Dirk turned his attention to Nino and Genis, who began laughing weakly.

"What does he mean, you two?" Dirk asked with curiosity, eying them with a moderate glare.

"We-well… We had to save this old lady! She was being whipped, and we had to!" Nino shouted, desperate for understanding. Genis turned himself back towards the dwarf – as he was nervous at the time – and backed the girl up.

"Yeah! It was our fault she was taken back!" Jaffar smirked slightly, a noise slipping from his mouth.

"In the end however, I dealt with everything. This should soon be under wraps, as long as no one else knows of this. Understood?" he said as he began heading for the exit of the household grounds, Nino and Genis looking at him with moderate shock.

"Ye be sure to make it back to the village in one piece, ya hear? I won't tell anyone what happen'd, just get yerself back home." Dirk replied with a frown, watching as they left, entering the forest. Nino and Genis ran up to Jaffar, who was casually walking down the slope; to their right was the ominous building they were previously at…

Instantly breaking into a run – as they were unsure of the possibilities of a Desian ambush, they swept past the black-garbed Seraph, pulling him with them. "What is the meaning of grabbing my arms?" he asked coolly after the two had released him and was now walking slowly.

"Well… We were going past the Human Ranch! We don't want them to see us coming back to the village!" Nino replied, kicking a nearby rock into the bushes. "Sorry that we had to grab your arms though…" Nino blushed, having felt the muscle-toned bicep. Jaffar sighed; better to play it safe with these two or else more complications would occur…

"It's fine. However," Jaffar began, turning a glance at the girl, "give me a warning next time you plan to do something like that." he smiled lightly, continuing his march back into the village. With the two at his heels, they arrived at the village with a sigh of relief – Iselia was still there… "I would suggest getting back to the Chosen's House. Come on."

_(--Iselia Ranch…--)_

Forcystus walked into the security room upon hearing of the supposed intrusion; the Desian in charge of watching over the cameras at that time was sitting at the controls, scanning over the clips from over an hour ago.

"Now what's this about a violation?" he barked at the Desian.

"Lord Forcystus, as you can see," he began, pointing to the central screen, "A few of the Desian guardsmen were hit by three fireballs. And on the camera at the front gates… There appears to be a human." he said, fingering the screen two places away from the previous one.

"I see," Forcystus said, not knowing what to do, "let me take a look at what is present and I shall decide what course of action we will take." he said, turning his back on the Desian. That was when he heard him call out.

"Sir, there's something else you should know about. Something you should hear." The Desian shouted, rewinding the clip of the black-garbed being. "This human was saying something to the camera. But it was very strange, sir…"

Forcystus watched the video closely, staring at the blood-red eyes of the teen. After he had finished with the Desians, he intently looked into the hidden camera. That was when he spoke.

"Meet me later tonight, Forcystus…" he said and ran off, appearing onto another screen; he was seen jumping off of the cliff.

"'Meet me later tonight?' Who is-?!" he began, when the thought finally registered. "I see. I will have to meet with him."

"Sir, he is-!" the Desian watch shouted, Forcystus interrupting him.

"…Lord Jaffar of the Five Seraphim. And if he must see me, I am not the one to invoke his wrath. I will have to see what the young lord wishes to see me for." he said and left to prepare for the night.

_(--Iselia…--)_

Lloyd walked back into the village, having spent far longer at the gravesite than he thought; he entered the house of the Chosen, where he saw the trio sitting within.Curious as to what they could be talking about, Lloyd walked back into the quaint house, thoughts still slightly distracted when Colette noticed him.

"Hi Lloyd. Glad to see that you're okay!" She chirped, drawing the attention of the other three present in the room at the moment. Lloyd smiled politely in return, and then noticed the way Jaffar was looking at him; he needed to tell him something. Signaling later to the older teen, Lloyd sat himself down at the table just as Phaidra and Frank came back into the room, followed by Raine.

"Ah, Lloyd; we have something to discuss with you." Phaidra spoke kindly, settling herself down at the table. "As you have probably noticed, this house is rather small, and we were questioning where to place you for the evening." Lloyd raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and even Jaffar drifted over to the table to hear the decision, and possibly to give his own input.

"If you don't mind," Lloyd began, shifting his eyes over to his cousin, "since – as you said yourself – the house is small, we would prefer to spend this night in that building over there, as we don't want to be an inconvenience for you. Is that acceptable?" he said smoothly; Phaidra looked at the boy with a smile on her face.

"I understand, my child. We can provide what little we have for you." Phaidra replied, walking toward the closet, pulling out two blankets and pillows. "Here you are, boys. Here, let this old woman fix you something to eat." she said, heading to the stove. "What would you like me to fix?"

Startled at the turn of events, the two slightly gaped. "Uh…" Lloyd stuttered, completely at a loss for words.

"It does not matter to us. You can fix whatever your heart's delight – we would eat anything. Although," Jaffar paused, a smirk growing on his face as he turned his head toward Lloyd, "anything with tomatoes is not something that would be eaten by a certain relative of mine."

Lloyd turned his head towards the wall, a red blush appearing on his face. "Jaffar-!" he said as his eyes narrowed angrily. Jaffar released a short chuckle as he stepped outside for some fresh air. When he came back in, the food was already prepared, and they began to eat. After dinner, Phaidra led the two to the schoolroom for the night…

_(--That Night…--)_

Jaffar and Lloyd noticed the calm night as the sneaked out of the village. Luckily for them, the secrets of the night are revealed, and nothing is hidden from their eyes. With Lloyd leading – as his eyesight is better than the other – they navigated through the forest, until they reached the crossroad. Making a left, they followed the road to the Human Ranch of Iselia.

Sitting there waiting for them was Forcystus, who seemed rather irate. When he saw the two angels approaching him, the half-elf bowed and spoke softly, "You said to meet me later tonight, but I am curious as to what you wished to speak with me about." Making a mental note that Forcystus was not like the other Cardinals in the fact that he didn't try to suck up to those in power, Lloyd smiled and nodded to his cousin. Jaffar looked at the half-elf before them and smiled coolly.

"So nice to see you, Forcystus," he began, a cold smile on his face. "I take it you heard about the little incident earlier today?"

"Of course; the Desian on watch showed me the tape shortly after you left, my lord." Forcystus replied smoothly, a part of his mind stating tartly. _'Of course I saw, and if that girl was who I believe her to be …'_ pushing the thought aside, he smirked coldly at the younger angel. "I figured that I would wait until you spoke with me to decide what to do about such an event though." This made Lloyd raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"A hero of the Extremist skirmishes having qualms about attacking humans? Are you feeling well, Forcystus?" Lloyd's comment was met with a light smack from Jaffar and an amused chuckle from Forcystus.

"It is not that, Lord Lloyd; simply the fact that Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with my ranch." He half lied, not wanting to give away the rest of his reasoning for hesitation; he didn't want these angels to use it against him in the future. Jaffar, not knowing what was going through the half-elf's head, crossed his arms over his chest.

"While normally this would qualify for raising the village to the ground and taking all hostage, the Chosen shall be beginning her journey as well." He mused silently, with Lloyd finally coming up with the conclusion.

"Simply burn some houses to the ground and make a scene out of breaking the treaty, but take no lives." The brunette walked up to stand beside Jaffar with a wry grin. "It wouldn't be a very good omen for people in the Chosen's home village to die so soon after the Oracle, now would it?" The other two present smiled and shook their heads lightly, making Lloyd grin once more. "Well, I shall head back to the village now; I think one of my swords might need sharpening." With a casual wave of his hand, Lloyd trotted down towards Iselia.

Jaffar waited until his cousin was well out of hearing range before speaking again. "And about that old woman … while I know that it might be … _entertaining_ to turn her into a monster," Forcystus didn't miss the disgusted tone that Jaffar had used briefly. "I hope you know that Lloyd will refuse to fight one of those. If you do take that course of action it doesn't matter to me, just be certain we are gone before attacking then."

"I understand, Lord Jaffar." Forcystus bowed lightly, voice level. "Have a safe Journey." Jaffar chortled lightly at the jest and left. Forcystus waited until he was certain that the two Seraphim were back at the village before speaking to himself. "So the rumors about Lords Lloyd and Jaffar despising Exubla with a passion are true; I wonder if the story about how Lord Jaffar earned the title 'Angel of Death' is true as well." He chuckled weakly to himself before growing somber; he should be grateful that Lords Jaffar and Lloyd hadn't made himself go through with the entire punishment for such a violation.

Turning while musing over the next morning's actions to himself, a small part of Forcystus grimaced at the thought entirely; his other reason for not attacking Iselia being a tad more … personal. _'You wanted her to be safe, eh?' _A small, cutting sharp voice nagged at him. _'Wanted to keep her out of the life of a Desian? So does attacking the village that she's raised in fall under the "sheltering" category, or more of the "keeping her safe" category?'_

Forcystus couldn't bring himself to answer truthfully.

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_**Li:** I love dramatic irony! _XD_ So much fun!! Now who would live in Iselia that Forcystus would want to keep safe, eh?  
**Sage:** Oho! Like we'd tell! Review please!_


	4. The Leave Taking

_**Li:** Well, here's this chapter!!  
**Lloyd:** Wow, you live.  
**Jaffar:** ... Who would be mad enough to attack her??  
**Li:** ... Yun-yun, but that's beside the point!! Disclaimer, please!!  
**Lloyd:** "Yun-yun"??  
**Jaffar:** ... Sage and Li own nothing._

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Three: The Leave Taking

The next morning, Jaffar and Lloyd walked over to the Brunel household - their sheets and pillows in their hands. Lloyd, preparing to kick the door, jumped at the sound of a light yell.

He accidentally kicked Colette in the leg. "Ch-Chosen...! I... I'm sorry-! I didn't mean to-!" he shouted, a red blush appearing on his face. Colette shook her head and giggled lightly, assuring the brunette that it would be alright. Jaffar stood behind them both, shaking his head while a faint chuckle escaped him.

'We've known her less than a day, and already her clumsiness is rubbing off on him.' He thought, noting the blush that decorated his cousin's face, if only faintly. After moving past their rather awkward moment, they were invited inside. They noted how Raine was already sitting at the table, waiting for them. Genis and Nino eyed them with saddened eyes, knowing that the time had come for their relatives to depart.

"Now then, now that everyone is here, let us have a quick and light breakfast." Phaidra smiled at everyone – although that same smile was rather forced. After having breakfast, the entire group walked to the southern entrance of the village, where everyone had apparently been waiting for them to arrive. The crowd watched as Colette led the group to the exit, Lloyd and Raine swiftly behind her, Jaffar holding up the rear. As everyone began to wave goodbye, Nino and Genis instantly felt their hearts sink, already stricken with fear, worry and concern…

"Well then, I suppose the rest is up to Colette… The Chosen One…" Phaidra said to no one in particular, as Nino caught sight of the elderly woman's slightly shaking hand as it was planted on her cane.

"Grandmother?" she asked softly, wondering if she had even heard her. Phaidra turned her head towards the girl, plastering a gentle smile onto her visage to cover her error. "Is Colette going to be okay…?"

"We can only pray to the Goddess for that. The Goddess will keep her safe." Phaidra said, noting the solemn melancholies in the air. "Why don't we head back to the house? Genis, Raine is having us look after you while she is gone. Why don't you and Nino get your things together?" she said, hoping the eerie silence could be broken with the children's playful laughter.

Unfortunately, that was not the case today.

"Okay…" Genis barely uttered, grabbing his shirt lightly, unbeknownst to them to keep the tears from falling down. Nino grabbed the boy by the hand and led him to his house. Genis, still feeling down, opened the door slowly, a light sniff escaping his mouth. Slightly startled, he perked up a bit. "I'll grab some of my things – the main things – for now." he said, grabbing his bag from the small closet he shared with Raine. What Nino was slightly surprised over was the fact of what he was throwing into it.

"Genis, aren't those items for…?"

_(--Meanwhile…--)_

"Lord Forcystus, I understand that we are to burn part of the village down, but was it necessary for your lordship to come?" a Desian asked the man, who only glared at the speaker.

"I came because of the strict orders of Lords Lloyd and Jaffar. I'm making sure you fools don't get carried away." he half-lied, although knowing full well that his explanation was enough. '_I have to see if she is really there, safe …' _he thought solemnly to himself; who has he trying to kid? Them…

Or himself? "It appears that they have left with the Chosen. Go, and burn down a few homes, but if I catch any of you killing a single person you will have to answer to the 'Angel of Death' and the 'Razing Azure Phoenix'– Lord Jaffar and Lord Lloyd." Forcystus told the men, who quivered at the titles of the said men; although young, they have established themselves to be well-known and deadly. "Unless you wish to see the full extent of their anger – if so, then be my guest." If anything had managed to sway them from killing those "inferior beings," it was hearing of what would happen to them had the two found out about them. "Have I made myself clear?" he asked his men as they nervously nodded their heads. "Then get going! I will come later and inspect what you all have done myself." he ordered as the men clumsily charged to the village.

_(In Iselia …)_

Nino sat on the fence around Genis' fence; the boy had shooed her outside when she had gotten a tad too inquisitive about what all he was packing. So now she sat, bored, her feet lightly kicking the post she sat on. _'I wonder if that black angel is waiting for someone …'_ she thought, remembering the mysterious angel who had once again appeared in her dreams. She hadn't gotten him to turn around, nor to speak – much less to see him even blink. He simply stood against the eclipsing moon, his wings glowing against the reddening moon. _'Perhaps … perhaps he is at the Tower!'_ Nino's head shot up, and she stared intently at the ivory white structure. _'But Colette doesn't want me to be along… I know she doesn't want me to be hurt, but I can take care of myself!' _

Nino hopped off of the post she sat on, and began to pace. "First it's Colette leaving, and then Grandmother looking so worried …" Wringing her hands, Nino looked towards the woods just as a figure with green hair stepped into her line of sight. "Who is that?" She asked herself, and began to walk over to where this person stood. Stopping when she was far enough away to talk to them without being outside the village, she hid and sat on a closer branch. "Excuse me, sir, are you lost?" She called out.

Forcystus—having not expected to be called out to—nearly leapt a foot in the air and turned to look in the direction of the voice. "Eh?" He asked, his hampered vision being of little help to his search. Nino called out from her perch.

"Over here, sir!"

Forcystus finally located the source, and found himself staring wide eyed at the speaker. _'No way …'_ "Y-Yes, what did you want?"

"Are you lost? Because if you are-" she began, until she was cut off by a charging Desian, whose whip almost gashed her leg. "Ah! Desians! You should run! I can take care of myself, just run away!" Nino shouted, brandishing her dagger from her bag.

"Run away? Do you really think that Lord Forcystus would run away from someone like you?" he said in a mock voice, much to the green-haired man's dismay.

'Idiot!' he hissed in his mind, and headed towards the man, punishment on his mind.

Nino gasped, almost losing grip of her dagger. "W-What? You're a… Desian?!" she shouted in angered fear, jumping back about a foot before entering a casting stance. "Genis! Come quick!" she shouted, noticing the half-elf child in the distance.

"No use!" the Desian shouted, raising his whip into the air. Forcystus, angered at the careless fool, grabbed the man's arm. "Lord Forcystus?"

"Have you already forgotten what was ordered? Would you like to face death by **them**?" Forcystus whispered in the whip master's ear, causing him to shake violently. "Do not harm the villagers by order of the two Lords above you." he said as he released the man's arm, the flail falling onto the ground. Turning his attention to the young girl – though his back was turned – he whispered a single phrase, which Nino only heard because the breeze carried it to her. "I suggest you might run along now." He then walked off.

Humphing loudly, she caught sight of two glowing objects on the ground. Curiosity killing the cat (which everyone kept telling her, none the less), she knelt and picked up the stones on the ground, deciphering them to possibly being those infamous exspheres, as they appeared to be similar to what the elderly lady had worn. "What are these doing here? Did that man drop them?" she questioned to herself, pocketing them, though hesitantly. Seeing Genis running toward her, he found himself out of breath.

"Nino, what do you think you were doing? You couldn't have fought them on your own!" he shouted in concern. Smiling coyly, she rubbed a hand through her leaf-shaded hair.

"Genis, I'm fine, see? I wasn't injured at all. But come on, we should-" she said when the sound of an explosion filled the air. They noticed smoke file into the sky and concern grew within them. Running to the Brunel Household, the two half-elf children found the house next door up in flames. "No!"

"Nino, we have to get out of here!" Genis yelled, dragging the girl by the hand. They ran to the southern entrance of the village, once again spotting the green-haired man from before.

'So he IS a Desian!' she said, her hands clenching into a fist. He'd seemed nice when he told her to hurry along, and now here he was, burning the place that she had grown up in! Her big sister … how could this man do this?! Her mind wheeled about in confusion; what was she to do? She didn't want to attack the man, because he's stopped the Desian from attacking her, but he was burning the village … Sweating slightly, Nino eventually ran to the plaza. "Grandmother!" she cried out, seeing the elderly blond standing there.

Phaidra turned to look, and called out, "Nino, Genis, please stay away! We must see why the Desians do this to us." Before Nino could ask what she meant, Phaidra had turned and was facing Forcystus; the leaf-haired half-elf was looking between her and Nino with an unreadable expression.

"I think it is fair; we might not know who it was specifically, but a human from your village was caught violating the Non-Aggression Treaty." he replied, loud enough so that all of those that were gathered in the plaza could hear him. Nino and Genis looked at each other, their look of terror easily mistaken for shock. "Normally, we would have taken a few of you hostage, but due to the missing identification of the intruders, we shall refrain."

Seeing that he had utterly stunned the village into silence, Forcystus finally decided to play the little troublemaker, and half-lied, "And the Chosen will always be in danger from the rest of us, no matter where she goes. I hope you are prepared for whatever might happen, you inferior beings." Internally wincing at the last part, he turned to his men. "Move out!" The Desians scrambled over one another to get away, but Forcystus looked back over his shoulder briefly, a torn look on his face.

Then they were gone, leaving the residents of Iselia in a stunned, frightened silence; just who had had the audacity to go to a Human Ranch? What did the green-haired Desian mean by the Chosen would always be in danger? Nino and Genis looked at one another, then ran up to Phaidra. "Grandmother, please!" Nino begged once she reached her, grabbing her grandmother's hand. "Let us go to Colette and the others! We can help, and …" Phaidra silenced her with a hand on her head.

"Here I had hoped that things would not have forced this, but it seems I must let you two go." She sighed, eyes looking over the two younger children in sorrow; she had wanted them to remain safe, and yet they refused to be protected. "Be strong, and help Colette with whatever she needs." Knowing that this was as close to a farewell as they were going to get, the two headed towards the exit, Nino stopping and looking back as they left; she had grown up her entire life here, and it was still a little strange leaving it behind. Unable to think of a thing to say, she turned away and ran off down the road where she had seen her sister leave, with Raine beside her and the two mercenaries shadowing them.

_(--Iselia Human Ranch…--)_

Hidden within his chambers at the Ranch, Forcystus contemplated things that he knew were going to get dicey; with the Chosen's Journey underway – and with her under the protection of the Angel of Death and Razing Azure Phoenix, nonetheless – the Desians were going to be hard pressed to challenge the Chosen; despite their age, Lords Lloyd and Jaffar did have a reputation that was to be feared. Only the lowliest of Desians had not heard about Lord Jaffar's brief loss of control and the slaughter of a score of angels at a young age, and all had been present when Lord Lloyd had razed the ranch that had continuously turned half of their victims into Exubla to terrorize the rest.

Thinking about the two events made Forcystus shudder slightly; he had only heard about the slaughter that Lord Jaffar had caused up in Cruxis, but the fact that he had killed twenty angels when he was _five_—although he was in a blind rage at the time, and the angels had not thought that someone so small could hold so much killer intent—was enough to leave even K'var shaking in his armored boots.

But Lord Lloyd … the Desian Grand Cardinals had all been there, for it was the destruction of the Triet Wastes Ranch that had earned Lloyd his title. The victims had been out in the yard, and the Cardinals had been in a meeting. The leader of the ranch had been called back in just as Lords Kratos, Lloyd, and Jaffar had all entered. The next thing anyone knew, two of the three seraphim had fled the building, and it began to go up in bright, roaring azure blue flames, killing all the Desians within, as well as the Exubla that were stored in the building. It was only later that they found out that Lord Lloyd had gone into a blind and angered rampage when he had seen all the Exubla, and had set the main power grid on fire. What was more shocking was the little damage Lord Lloyd himself suffered in the blaze, but to some, it looked like a blue-winged phoenix had given those of the ranch divine judgment.

Or so the story goes…

And so, it became common knowledge to the Desians and the Angels of Cruxis both never to enrage the cousins. _'And so now things get rolling … who will manage to summon the courage to attack those two?'_ Forcystus asked himself, although he truly knew the answer. _'I guess we can just be grateful that Lord Kratos isn't present as well; nobody would approach a group consisting of all three Aurions…'_

"Jaffar." The angel heard his cousin say. The group of four was currently resting at the House of Salvation as per the half-elf woman's wishes to give Colette a break (as the girl was not the type to wish being a burden on anyone). While the two of them were inside resting, Lloyd and Jaffar waved off the thought of sleep, saying that the traveling was nothing to them.

"What is it, cousin?" Jaffar asked the other teen, removing his elbow from its resting point the fence post. "Is your hearing picking something up?"

"Yes – it seems we have company on their way here." Lloyd stated smoothly, a slight scowl on his face; he turned his head to the north. "It seems the two children from before are searching for us."

"I see. This is definitely not going according to plan..." Jaffar mused, closing his eyes and releasing a light sigh from his mouth. Though slowly, a grin grew on his face. "I suppose there is only one good thing that comes from this minor soon-to-be arrangement…"

Lloyd returned his cousin's grin with one of his own. "Of course." he said, narrowing his eyes. "The more fools on the journey, the more we betray and later remove from the worlds. How enjoyable." he chuckled to himself.

"Now cousin, you know how you get carried away sometimes." Jaffar smirked back, eyes narrowed. "Try not to get ahead of yourself. We cannot afford slip-ups during this 'arduous' journey." he chuckled to himself, Lloyd joining him.

"Hah, do those fools seriously think something like this is 'arduous?' If only they knew. Pah, I doubt they could ever understand the wonders of Lord Yggdrasil's plans..." Lloyd responded, receiving a nod from his cousin. "Well then, I suppose now we must discuss what we must do with our drag-alongs. I assume the Chosen would not mind the trouble, and that woman would give up easily enough once the two start their mindless babbling…"

"And I know how you feel about it, Lloyd." Jaffar glanced at him with amusement. "I suppose we cannot argue against the Chosen, so we must agree. Though I see no harm in taking our time in deciding what we should do."

"Agreed. Well then, shall we wait for our newest bag of luggage?" Lloyd said with slight distaste as he joined his cousin on the fence post, trying to avert his eyesight to the incoming half-elves.

_(--Nino and Genis--)_

"Nino, wait for a moment!" Genis gasped with exhaustion. He placed his hands onto his knees as he bent over, almost collapsing onto the ground.

"Come on, Genis! We have to hurry to Colette! Who knows what sort of trouble she might be in?!" Nino huffed loudly, jogging in place as if to burn off excess energy.

"What good would we be if we arrived out of breathe? I need a short break…" Genis said, ultimately collapsing onto the ground. Digging into his bag, he brought out a sandwich he had made from before and started eating it. Taking out another sandwich, he held it out for Nino. "Here, eat this before you crash from both lack of hunger and energy. You need to conserve it, after all – we don't know how far they've already gone."

"Well… Well, alright…" the girl pouted slightly, taking a seat across from the boy and began nibbling on the sandwich Genis handed her. "Genis, how do you make something as simple as a sandwich taste so good?!" Nino shouted with all her energy, causing the half-elf boy to flinch. (And unknowingly, causing a certain teenager to flinch as well.)

Genis simply laughed. "I've always been good at cooking and food preparing. You don't want to experience the horror that is called 'Raine's cooking.'" he laughed again, trying to finish up with his sandwich. After some time had past, he stood up again. "Okay, I think I'm ready to continue our search!" he replied, turning to the south.

Nino stood up quickly, grabbing the boy's hand. "Come on, come on! We've got to find Colette and the others!" she shouted and dragged the pre-teen down the plain. After half-an-hour of running, they eventually were forced to slow down, as exhaustion struck Genis once again, as he was not used to such strenuous physical exercise.

Unknowing to them, someone continued to watch them from a little ways off. Sighing to himself, Lloyd thought now would be a good time to reveal himself. "And why are you children here? You were told to stay in the village." he said with narrow eyes, a menacing scowl on his face. "Explain yourselves. Right now." Lloyd said as he folded his arms, waiting for their response. Nino and Genis looked to one another, and began to explain hurriedly all about the attack on Iselia. Lloyd looked at them and raised a single eyebrow; true, it had been he who had suggested it to Forcystus in the first place, but even still, he hadn't planned on it being followed this well.

"Let them go, cousin. It sounds like they left to keep the peace stable." Jaffar's voice came from behind as he walked up, scaring Nino and Genis out of their skins once again as he appeared silently. Lloyd looked at Jaffar and raised a single eyebrow, his eyes holding a question. His auburn cousin simply shrugged and continued, "We can have them explain it all to Raine and the Chosen themselves, but if they're willing to help, my only complaint would be that they do not have exspheres."

"Is that what these are??" Nino asked innocently, holding up her hands to reveal a pair of reddish orbs. Lloyd's eyebrows shot up farther at that, while Jaffar nodded slowly.

"... Dare I ask where you managed to acquire those, Nino?" Lloyd asked after a moment, stepping forward and taking the two objects in his hand, rolling them around while he waited for the young girl to give her answer.

"The one Desian I was telling you about dropped them. At least I think he did." Nino said simply, looking at the floor; she was certain that Lloyd would not believe a word of what she was telling him. However, much to her shock, Lloyd made a noise that seemed halfway between a grunt and a sigh and stuck both exspheres in his pockets, walking away towards the Tower of Salvation.

"That means 'I'll put them in Key Crests' in annoyed Lloyd speak." Jaffar half explained, half teased, making Nino and Genis giggle, but earned the auburn a scathing glare from Lloyd. Jaffar either did not notice or did not care, because he looked at the two before him and smiled darkly. "But while we are more than willing to allow you to come along, we WON'T be the ones explaining to Raine and the Chosen why you two are here."

_'Oh now that's just harsh.' _Lloyd thought blandly, watching as Nino and Genis both went absolutely dead white from fear._ 'I might have just met her, but not even I want to face that woman when she's that angry. I sincerely hope that she doesn't kill them when we arrive... And they call me 'evil and cold-hearted.'_ biting back the apologetic sigh that was threatening to leave him, he smiled and turned around, walking back towards the House of Salvation. "Hurry up – I don't want to be out here after dark." He said coldly, and the three started following him.

"Is Lloyd always this … cold?" Nino asked after a moment, looking between the cousins. Jaffar looked after Lloyd and sighed.

"Sometimes, sometimes not. Uncle is like that as well, so I suppose you can say he inherited it," he said, pausing slightly, "but I think the fact that the Desians attacked the village upset him." He half-lied; Lloyd had suggested it, but he still held a grudge against all of the Desians. Seeing the two look at him in surprise, he sighed and said softly, "ask him when you get the chance; I don't have too much of a right to speak about it. But I will say this, it was because of the Desians that he lost his mother." Knowing that he had temporarily stopped the questions coming from the two, Jaffar began to follow his cousin to the House of Salvation.

Nino and Genis looked at one another, and a shiver went down their spines; Genis had told Nino what he had seen after they had left the Human Ranch, and she agreed to never make Jaffar THAT angry with her. "I think we shouldn't bring this subject up again …" Nino commented softly, to which Genis nodded. With that, the two followed the auburn towards the house, both of them feeling a sinking sense of dread; HOW were they going to explain themselves this time?

**

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**

Li:

Well, this was a pain to wrap up. X.X  
_**Sage:**__ Ugh, it did take a lot of time. Hopefully next time around it won't be as long to get done… _XO  
_**Li:** Tell me about it. Review, please._


	5. A Day of Rest

**Chapter 4: A Day of Rest**

Colette and Raine looked around for the two teens, slightly surprised at how they suddenly disappeared. Raine tapped her foot against the hardened dirt, a slight scowl on her face; they went in to rest, and they take off on them? It did not make sense. "They're supposed to be guarding us, not dragging us behind."

Colette, however, shook her head. "I'm sure they have a good reason for it!" she said with a smile, spotting the two coming closer to them. "Oh look! There they are now!" she said, squinting; she then saw two other blurs behind them and gasped. "Is that Nino and Genis?" she asked the teacher, who flinched slightly.

"Yes, it is. Why did they have to come? I thought they were told that they were going to be staying in the village, where it's safe. They better have a good reason for this…" She sighed into her hand, using it to rub her temple. As they made their way to the resting house, Raine stared at them with severity. "Why are you two here? Is that why these two had gone off?"

Genis and Nino winced at the tone she was using. "Sorry Raine… It's a long story…" Genis said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "You see… the Desians attacked the village, and in order to keep the village from going into an uproar, we left."

"Why would you have to leave? What did you do?" she asked, looking at the two. Genis looked at Nino, having explained part of it already. "Nino? Would you care to explain?" she asked, giving her "the look." That stern look she always gave whenever she wanted someone to explain what happened, or else.

"Uh… We went to the ranch!" she said, covering her face into her hands. "We went to see-" she paused, turning her head to Genis to see if he would get mad. However, he had slowly nodded his head, giving her the okay to tell. "We went to see Genis' friend, who was in the ranch, and we got caught by the Desians… After you guys left, the Desians came and started burning the villager's homes… No one knew it was us, but we told Grandmother about it, and she let us go."

Raine flinched slightly, a saddened look on her face. "What am I going to do with you two?" she sighed, her hand meeting with her head once more. "Genis, is the house still there…?" she asked, eyes turning distant.

Genis smiled happily. "Yes! It is! Luckily, they didn't burn down our house!"

"Good." she said, letting out a sigh of relief she never knew she had. "Well, I'm glad you both are alright. You both have gone through much in such short time… Go inside and get some rest – we'll spend the remainder of the day here in the sanctuary." Raine said, sending the two into the building. Watching as the two and Colette hurried into the building, Raine sighed at the two teens. "You two saw them coming and went to them, is that it?" she asked.

Jaffar nodded his head. Lloyd lowered his head slightly, eyes narrowed and a scowl on his face. "I saw them coming down the road and told Jaffar about it. Then the two of us went down to confront them. We had not thought that you would be waiting for us to come back. Of course, we had thought that we would have been back before then. Sorry." he said, nodding his head.

"Hmm. It's alright, Lloyd, however, I would have liked that you would have informed me of it before hand." Raine said with another sigh.

"We did think to tell you, however, we thought that since you were resting that we would take care of it." he said; he was starting to grow slightly suspicious of the half-elf woman. Was she trying to interrogate them?

Raine placed her hand onto her elbow, shifting her weight to the other side. "I see. Well, while I'm glad you took the initiative for me, you could have at least left a note." she said, still holding a frown. Lloyd was wondering if she was ever going to stop. "However, I suppose there's no point in worrying about it now – it's happened and it's done."

'_Good – she's letting it go. I was afraid I'd have to do something that could blow our cover…'_ Lloyd thought, his right eye looking at the auburn-haired teen. _'Such a stupid woman for being a half-elf...'_ "So we'll be taking them with us, right? Alright, that's fine with me. What of you, Jaffar?"

Jaffar crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes now closed. "It does not bother me. Now then, I'm heading into the sanctuary. If you need me, that's where I'll be." He said, pushing him off from the fence post he was leaning against.

Lloyd watched him head into the building, thinking he should do the same. "I'll be heading in as well. I would like to relax a bit before we eat. Until dinner then." he said, heading for the door of the building. He stopped in front of the door and turned his head, noting that the woman was walking toward the wooden chairs that were placed on the House of Salvation's lawn. He then entered and made his way to the rest area, hopping onto the bed.

Meanwhile, Raine was sitting at the table near her seat, her thoughts turning toward the two teenage mercenaries. "Lloyd seems to be the more talkative between the two, and a lot kinder and less cold, but it's too early to tell, I guess. I suppose I should continue to evaluate them to see how they actually are…" she mused a loud, not knowing of the ease-dropping teens hearing every word she said …

"It feels like she is stalking us, doesn't it, cousin?" Jaffar asked Lloyd nervously, glancing at the window in worry. Lloyd rolled his eyes in response, and nodded grimly.

"I fear that we will have to be more on guard around her than we originally planned." Lloyd sighed, shaking his head. "While the children will not suspect us – if we keep our profiles low, at least – Raine seems to suspect that there is more to us than we let on."

"Humph; why such intelligence was wasting away in that small village escapes me. She would do much better working as a scientist over on Tethe'alla." Jaffar shook his head, lowering the hood of his cape. "But those fools only see half-elves as freaks of nature, life forms that should only be ignored or belittled." Lloyd also scowled, his red eyes narrowing.

"Humans only discriminate against them because they fear them." He sighed, having had this conversation with Jaffar before; Jaffar's father had been a half-elf. "If people truly did not think that half-elves needed to exist, then humans and elves would not fall in love with one another."

"You're optimistic, cousin." Jaffar muttered darkly, but dropped the subject in favor of glancing out the window at the sun setting over the distant mountains. "… Do you have any notion of how long this trip will take us?" He asked after a moment, sighing.

"Bored already?" Lloyd teased, earning a light glare from Jaffar. "Don't worry; we will be approaching the Seal of Fire soon, and then the Chosen will begin her transformation into an angel." Glancing at the door, Lloyd shook his head in annoyance. "But as soon as that happens, we will have our work cut out for us keeping any assassin that the Renegades send for the Chosen at bay, and we might have to fight Desians."

"I see no problem with that." Jaffar responded, folding his arms behind his head and stretching out on the bed.

"You just like killing people, Jaffar; you ARE the Angel of Death after all." Lloyd countered, earning one of Jaffar's shoes in his face for the comment; the older cousin's eyes were narrowed in annoyance.

"Be careful with that name; you never know when the walls might be listening in …" He stated, and both of them heard Raine sneeze beneath them.

Lloyd grumbled inaudibly, rubbing his forehead. "Sorry. I had not expected her to enter so soon. Has it already turned dark?" the younger cousin asked, looking out the window. "I must have forgotten how fast time flows around here." he whispered, receiving a nod from Jaffar.

"Remember, Cousin," Jaffar said, looking at the teen calmly, "we arrived here at about mid-afternoon." he said, hearing him respond with his usual "Ah." "At any rate, did Uncle provide you with the eating pills? I found that I barely ate anything this morning, so it must have worn off."

Lloyd smirked at Jaffar with a cocked eyebrow. "Of course he did – that's Dad for you. Take it before Raine spots you – we do not need any unnecessary explaining to do." he said, handing Jaffar the pill; he quickly threw it into his mouth, swallowing hastily.

"Alright, I'm going to lie down for a while." he said, folding his arms across his chest. "If there is one thing I hate about these things, it's that they almost seem to suck all the strength out of you, and make you have to-" he would have finished, had Lloyd not raise his hand. Soon, he heard a quartet of voices coming down the hall, then finally, a knock on the door.

"Lloyd? Jaffar?" Lloyd sighed softly; it was the Chosen. What did she want? "May I come in?" Jaffar nodded to Lloyd, who walked over to the door. Jaffar quickly made his way onto the bed, plopping on it and feigning sleep before he actually did fall asleep. Lloyd smiled just before opening the door. "Oh, hello Lloyd!" Colette said cheerfully, giggling lightly.

"Good Evening, Chosen. Is there anything that you need?" he asked, looking back at his cousin. "Jaffar is a little tired, so he is resting for a bit. But is there something I can do for you?"

The girl smiled, turning to the three behind her. "We were going to head downstairs for dinner. The pastors of the House of Salvation here are making it as we speak, so we thought to get you." she said, eyes dancing with gleam. "Would you care to join us?" she asked, hoping he would agree; she wanted to learn so much more about him. She felt saddened that she knew so little…

Lloyd chuckled lightly, as to not disturb Jaffar. "Of course. We can just bring something up for Jaffar when he gets up." he said, gently closing the door behind him. He followed the four down the stairs into the dining area.

Colette stopped for a moment, allowing the other three to go down before her. She walked beside Lloyd, her hands across her chest. "Lloyd, may I ask you a question?"

Lloyd cocked his eyebrow slightly, looking at her smiling face. "You do not have to ask me if you wish to ask me a question. If it is something I cannot answer, I will simply let you know." he said, a tug of a smile forcing its way onto his lips. "What is it that you require?"

Colette blushed a bit, having not expected to be called out like that. "Umm… W-Would you m-mind…"she stuttered, trying to recompose herself, "telling m-me about y-yourself? Like your family? I-If you don't mind, that is…" she responded, lowering her face slightly.

Lloyd felt a nagging pull in his mind. True, it was something anyone would be curious of, but at the same time, he could not simply tell her. It was not like she was asking him to be her slave and do what she commanded, but he did not know how to answer it. But remaining silent for too long was not an option. He would just have to be careful, he figured. "Certainly. While there are things I cannot tell you due to various reasons, I will answer to the best of my ability." he said with a smile as he led her down the stairs.

She closed her eyes after arriving at the foot of the stairs. "Thank you, Lloyd. I feel so bad not knowing much about you and Jaffar." Lloyd saw a quick flash of concern on her face, a secret frown the world never knew of. "So I would like to hear some of your stories so I can know you better!" she said, trying to maintain her excitement as to not disturb the other guests.

"Alright, I shall." he chuckled lightly, a smile spreading over his face. However, he mentally frowned at his current behavior, eyes narrow. '_I have to keep my guard up. She may be kind and selfless, but that does not change the fact that she is the Chosen going on her journey to become Lady Martel's vessel.' _he sighed to himself in thought as he took his seat. '_After all, that is what is written in Fate's will.'_

堕天使

Jaffar moaned as softly as he could, still feeling his head pound slightly. "Blast those pills. Uncle must have the researchers adjust them so that they don't negatively impact teenagers…" he said irritably as he sat up and placed his feet on the ground, running his hands through his hair. No sooner than that, he heard a knock on the door. Grumbling softly – as he hated the fact that those eating pills force him to perform "mortal" habits – he made his way to the door. "Who is it?" he asked drily.

"It's Nino." the green-haired girl replied, making something of a ruckus outside his door. Jaffar smelled something wafting in the air, most likely from whatever Nino had behind the door. "May I come in?"

'_Why not? What harm can a young girl be?'_ He joked to himself, looking around the room to make sure that nothing inappropriate was sticking out. Shutting Lloyd's bag shut – as the pill bottle was sticking out, and Jaffar was one for taking no chances, he opened the door. "What is it you need?"

Jaffar spotted the tray of food that was in the girl's hands and wanted to smack himself for being so out of it. "Lloyd said that you would be getting up soon, and since I was finished with dinner, I thought I would bring it up for you." she said, unaware that Jaffar's left eye had twitched.

'_Leave it to Lloyd…'_ Jaffar thought in his head, an annoyed look on his face. Quickly hiding it, he put on his stoic face and nodded his head. "Set it on the table, then." Nino looked up at him and nodded, setting the tray full of food off to one side; luckily, as soon as they had returned to the group, Genis had commandeered the kitchen, so Nino knew that the food was edible. Turning to talk with Jaffar, her eyes spotted the tattoo on his shoulder. Curious, she cocked her head and tried to remember if she had seen such before.

Yes; when they had been walking back from Dirk's house, she had seen the tattoo then too. But it had been on his other arm. _'Wait …'_ Nino looked again, and was startled to see that she could tell what the tattoo was now that she was looking; it was a stylized black wing, and when Jaffar turned to face her, she saw that he did boast the design on his other shoulder as well.

"Is there a reason you are staring at me with such interest?" Jaffar's voice cut through Nino's thoughts as easily as one of his daggers cut flesh, startling the girl into looking up into his red eyes. It was then that she noticed that his hood was gone as well, leaving his hair to fall into his face, making his eyes seem slightly paler than normal. Blushing – why was she blushing – Nino shook her head and looked at her feet, suddenly fascinated by them.

"Why do you have tattoos?" She asked after a moment, making Jaffar stop in the middle of pulling the tray towards him. Making a questioning noise, the auburn placed the tray back on the table and looked at Nino curiously. Managing to subdue some of her blush, Nino glanced up at Jaffar again and asked softly, "You have wings tattooed onto your shoulders … why?"

"… That is for me to know, and only me." Jaffar stated calmly, pulling the food towards him and taking a small sip of the soup. Nino didn't pursue the issue, but Jaffar could tell that the young girl was still curious about the wings, so he finally sighed. "You were there when you heard about my … outburst, correct?" Once he saw Nino nod, the assassin said softly, "… the black wings of the angel of death were added to my shoulders shortly after I turned twelve. They are … reminders, if you will."

"Reminders … of your crime?" Nino asked, eyes wide as she tried to comprehend what life would be like with such a shadow clinging to her. Jaffar gave a small half nod in response.

"That … and a reminder for me to keep a hold of my temper at all times … I would not want to cause such bloodshed again." Jaffar said, watching Nino's eyes widen even further in shock. "Is it that surprising?"

Nino shook her head, trying to regain composure. "S-Sort of. I-Is that a bad thing?" she asked weakly, wondering if it was wise to voice her question. "I-I mean, is that what you were expecting? Er…" she continued babbling, trying to find the words to fix her blunder. "I-"

"Relax." Jaffar said sternly, causing Nino to silence almost immediately. "Had I known this would happen, I would not have said it…" he said as he sighed weakly, his hand onto his forehead. That blasted headache still had not gone away. "It is fine, and before you do, you do not need to apologize."

Nino blushed a bit, having not expected him to figure out what she would have said next. "O-Okay. And is something wrong? Should I guess the Professor?" she asked, staring with confusion at Jaffar's forehead.

"No, it's fine. I just have a headache." Jaffar responded, gritting his teeth slightly. "It will pass as soon as I eat something." he said, picking up the fork. He lightly stabbed the slice of chicken, smearing it with the meager gravy on the plate. He placed it into his mouth, somewhat enjoying the taste. He noticed Nino remaining by his side and threw her a curious look. "Is there anything else that you need?"

Nino gasped lightly. "O-Oh, sorry. I'll be going then." she said, getting up off of the bed. She walked to the door, turning back toward him. "Oh, I almost forgot! I was told to tell you that you can bring the tray down tomorrow since the priests aren't low on dishes right now." she said with a smile before opening the door. "Good night, Jaffar."

Jaffar placed his hand onto his head. "Night." he responded, softly laying himself onto the bed as Nino made her way into the hallway. His head was still lightly pounding, though not as badly as before. He figured Lloyd would come in of his own accord. He pulled up the covers and went back to sleep, the after-effects of the pills lingering in his system. As she trotted downstairs, Nino was startled to see that her older sister had somehow managed to get Lloyd to sit down and play a game of chess with Genis. Lloyd was studying the board with interest, as was Genis.

"So, Lloyd, where did you come from?" Colette asked with a smile, blue eyes sparkling as she waited for Lloyd's response. Nino was amused to see that the brunet was startled by the question, hand in the middle of selecting a chess piece to move.

"Me? I was born in Izlood; my parents settled there shortly before I was born." Lloyd smiled, remembering the small fishing village with great fondness. "It was nice and peaceful there, mainly due to the fact that there isn't a Human Ranch in the immediate area; even the Remote Island ranch is closer to Palmacosta than Izlood." Moving his piece, Lloyd grinned as Genis scowled at the board. "Check and mate; you shouldn't have let me take your castles and bishops so early on in the game." He stated as he helped Genis clear the board.

"And where was Jaffar born? Is he from Izlood too?" Colette asked again, smiling to herself when she noticed the way Nino's head seemed to perk slightly. Lloyd thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

"No; he and his parents lived on their own, in the middle of a large forest. We would often visit them, though." Lloyd smiled. "He began to stay with us after his parents went missing, however, so it feels more like we're brothers than cousins." Standing, Lloyd stretched his arms over his head. "Speaking of Jaffar, is he still asleep?"

"Yeah; he ate and then went to bed." Nino nodded. "He didn't seem to be feeling well …" Lloyd shook his head.

"It's most likely a headache. Jaffar's never done well with extreme heat." He explained, gesturing out the dark window at the Triet desert that they would soon be heading into. "Speaking of resting, I think that's a good idea for all of us; we should get an early start if we want to reach Triet by tomorrow night."

Raine nodded her head. "Yes, and I wish to be up before the sun rises so we can avoid the early morning heat." she said, looking at the chess board. "Where did the chess board come from?"

Genis looked up. "Oh, the priests had it in storage – it was donated. We saw it and asked if we could use it." he said, looking at Lloyd. "I was hoping I would be good enough to win, but I guess I still need more practice."

"Well, do remember to return it before you enter our room. I don't want to hear that it is not in their hands."

"Right, Raine." he said, placing the pieces inside of the board. He folded the board in half, closing it. "Alright, I'm going to hand this to the nearest priest and then I'll be up, okay, Raine?" Raine nodded her head, yawning into her hand. "Alright, I'll see you all in the morning."

Colette bowed her head. "Good night, Genis!" she said, turning to the stairs. "Come on, Nino, we can share my bed! Oh! And good night, Lloyd!"

Nino gasped, rushing up the stairs. "O-Okay! Good night, Lloyd."

Lloyd chuckled, waving his hand. "Good night, Nino. Good night, Chosen." he turned for the stairs. He smirked; perhaps he should see how Jaffar was doing. He walked up the stairs and then down the hall to his room. He opened the door to find Jaffar sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands rubbing his head. Lloyd's smirk never left his face; he closed the door behind him. "So, I see you're feeling better now."

Jaffar stared back at him. "Shut it, Lloyd. You 're enjoying this more than you should." he said, groaning. "I still feel like crap…"

Lloyd walked over to his bed, taking off his boots. "And this is why I waited to take my pills just before we left. Besides, this is only just revenge for your mockery earlier when I took mine." he said, removing the jacket and placing it on the back of the chair. "So now what are you going to do? Sleep some more?"

"What else can I do? They obviously think I'm not feeling well." he said, sighing. "But I don't think I could sleep anymore."

Lloyd lay down, stretching under the covers. "Well, sucks to be you then, does it not? Night, Jaffar." he said, laughing before he fell asleep. He was ignorant to Jaffar's grumblings.

* * *

Sage here. So yeah, sorry for any delays, we've both been lazy as hell. Doubt this makes it up, but whatever. I'll see when we're gonna start the next one. At any rate, review if you will.


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